JP2971490B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with a low friction portion and a high friction portion on the distal end side of the endoscope.

[Related Art] In recent years, an endoscope has been widely used for diagnosis in a body cavity and treatment using a treatment tool by inserting the endoscope into a body cavity such as a living body.

In the conventional endoscope, if the insertion property is poor, the pain to the patient increases. Therefore, in order to improve the insertion property, the outer surface of the insertion portion is formed of a low friction material with little friction.

For example, as shown in JP-A-61-209670, a water-soluble polymer is bonded to the entire outer surface of a gastrointestinal catheter to increase the lubricating property of the outer surface of the insertion portion, and to reduce the friction to insert the gastrointestinal catheter. Easy to use.

Further, the present applicant has proposed, in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-46288, an endoscope in which at least a part of an outer surface of an insertion portion is provided with a non-lubricated portion for gripping which is not lubricated. .

By the way, like an endoscope for a lower digestive organ, in order to insert the colon from the large intestine to the deep part of the large intestine, it is necessary to insert the inside of a bent portion such as a sigmoid colon or a colon bend. In particular, since the left colonic bend is largely bent, it is difficult to insert it deeply, and there is a hooking the fold method as a colon insertion method.

In this technique, the intestinal tract is pulled over the folds of the intestinal wall by hooking it with a curved rubber that forms a curved outer jacket at the rear end of the endoscope insertion section, thereby straightening the bent intestinal tract. This is the method of insertion.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, as described in the above publication, if the lubricating property of the entire outer surface of the insertion portion is enhanced, the insertion portion is surely inserted with less resistance to the intestinal wall when the insertion portion is pushed forward. , Hooking
If the fold method is used to hook the fold and pull it, it has good lubricity and slips, so that there is a drawback that insertion by this method cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide an endoscope that can be easily inserted into a bent body cavity such as the large intestine by the hooking the fold method.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems] On the outer surface from the distal end portion of the insertion portion to the curved portion, a low friction portion having a small frictional resistance with the lumen surface of the observation object is provided. The high friction portion having a large friction is provided closer to the front end than the low friction portion, and the insertion by the hooking the fold method is enabled by using the high friction portion, and the insertion function in the low friction portion is also ensured. Thus, an endoscope that can be easily inserted is realized.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically with reference to the drawings.

An electronic endoscope 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has an elongated insertion section 2, a wide operation section 3 connected to the rear end of the insertion section 2, and a side of the operation section 3. It comprises a universal cord 4 extending from the part to the outside, and a connector 5 provided at the tip of the universal cord 4.

The insertion portion 2 is formed at a rigid distal end (configuration) portion 6, at a rear end of the distal end portion 6, and can be bent at a bending portion 7, and is formed from a rear end of the bending portion 7 to a front end of the operation portion 3. And a flexible flexible tube portion 8 formed.

The bending section 7 can be bent left and right or up and down by operating an angle knob 9 provided on the operation section 3.

A light guide fiber 10 for transmitting illumination light is inserted into the insertion section 2, and the light guide fiber 10 is inserted through the universal cord 4 from the operation section 3, and an end face thereof faces the connector 5. Illumination light is supplied by connecting to a light source device (not shown).

The illumination light supplied from the light source device is transmitted by the light guide fiber 10, and emits the illumination light forward from the distal end surface fixed to the distal end portion 6. The subject illuminated by the illumination light is imaged by the objective lens system 11 attached to the distal end portion 6 on the solid-state imaging device 12 disposed on the focal plane.

The formed subject image is photoelectrically converted by the solid-state imaging device 12, and is converted into an electric signal. A signal line 13 having one end connected to the solid-state imaging device 12 is inserted through the insertion section 2, the operation section 3, and the universal cord 4, the other end is connected to the connector 5, and a signal processing device (or a video processor (not shown)). ), The signal output from the solid-state imaging device 12 is signal-processed, converted into a standard video signal, and a color image of a subject can be displayed on a color monitor (not shown).

In addition, an air / water supply channel and a suction channel (not shown) are further provided in the insertion section 2. By operating the air / water supply button 14 and the suction button 15 provided on the operation section 3, air supply / water supply or suction is performed. Can be performed.

The operation unit 3 further includes a release button 16 for outputting a release signal, a VTR start button 17 for outputting a signal for VTR start, a side light switching button 18 for outputting a signal for photometry switching, and a freeze signal. Is provided, and by connecting the connector 5 to a video processor, each signal is output to enable remote control.

By the way, in the first embodiment, a part of the outer surface near the front end of the curved portion 7 is not lubricated so that it can be easily inserted into the bent portion in the body cavity by the hooking-the-fold method. Non-processing part which becomes high friction part with high resistance
21 are formed. The outer surface of the curved portion 7 other than the non-processed portion 21 is lubricated to form a (lubricated) process portion 22 which becomes a low friction portion with reduced frictional resistance.

The outer surfaces of the distal end portion 6 and the flexible tube portion 8 are, for example, lubricated.

Note that a non-processing portion may be formed on the rear end side (the operation portion 3 side) of the flexible tube portion 8 to prevent the flexible tube portion 8 from slipping when gripped by hand.

The treatment section 22 to be subjected to the lubrication treatment can be realized by, for example, synthetic rubber or the like in which a hydrophilic polymer chain is covalently bonded to an outer surface of an elastomer as a polymer substance having a remarkable elasticity at around normal temperature.

According to the first embodiment configured as described above, for example, when trying to insert into the deep part of the large intestine, most of the insertion part 2 is lubricated by inserting and pushing the distal end side of the insertion part 2. Since it is a processing section, frictional resistance is small and it can be inserted smoothly. Thus, for example, to pass through the left colonic bend, the non-processing
Is hooked on the fold of the intestinal wall and pulled, whereby the intestine of this part can be straightened due to the large frictional resistance between the pulling processing part 21 and the fold, and the endoscope end side can be inserted into its deeper side. .

According to the first embodiment, since the non-processing portion 21 having a large frictional resistance is provided at the distal end side of the insertion portion 2, the insertion into the bent body cavity by the hooking the fold method can be easily performed. .

In the first embodiment, the outer surfaces of the distal end portion 6 and the flexible tube portion 8 may be non-processed portions.

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section of a jacket of a curved portion in a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the endoscope of the second embodiment, a high friction portion 32 is formed by providing an uneven surface on the front outer surface of the curved portion 31.

An outer surface of the curved portion 31 other than the high friction portion 32 is formed with, for example, a lubricated treatment portion 22.

The high friction portion 32 is, for example, a jacket that is covered by the curved portion 31.
33 can be formed in advance so that the outer surface thereof has irregularities and cover the processed outer cover.

Before forming the high friction portion 32, this portion may be slightly thickened, and the outer surface of this portion may be roughened with a grindstone or the like to form the high friction portion 32. .

The operation and effect of the second embodiment are almost the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section of a jacket of a curved portion in a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the third embodiment, a high friction portion 42 having an uneven surface is formed on the outer surface of, for example, a portion near the front portion of the curved portion 41.

The uneven surface is a convex inclined toward the hand operation unit, so that the friction particularly when pulled toward the hand is increased.

For the uneven surface of this embodiment, for example, a jacket 43 previously processed into an uneven surface shape as in the second embodiment may be used, or a curved portion may be used.
The jacket attached to 41 can also be formed by cutting.

The third embodiment has substantially the same functions and effects as the second embodiment, and has a large frictional resistance when pulled. Therefore, the third embodiment is more suitable for insertion by the hooking the fold method.

FIG. 4 shows a part of a longitudinal section of a curved portion in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the fourth embodiment, the bending portion 51 has a jacket structure in which a high friction member 52 is fitted into a low friction jacket 53.

The low-friction outer cover 53 is made of a material capable of reducing the outer surface to low friction by lubrication, for example, as in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, the high friction member 52 may be made of a material having a large coefficient of friction, or does not have low friction even if it is lubricated with a material different from the material forming the low friction jacket 53 (high friction). It may be something.

Further, as the high friction member 52, a member having a high friction coefficient by providing an uneven portion on the outer surface may be used.

The operation and effect of the fourth embodiment are almost the same as those of the first embodiment.

 FIG. 5 shows a distal end side of an insertion portion according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In the fifth embodiment, for example, in the first embodiment, the non-processed portion 21 is formed only in a portion (for example, a portion corresponding to the up direction) of the outer surface near the front portion of the curved portion 7, not in the entire circumferential direction.
Is provided. Others are the same as the first embodiment.

According to this embodiment, since the direction of the hooked portion when performing the hooking the fold method is limited, for example, the non-processing portion 21 of the bending portion 7 is attached to the inner wall surface of the intestine 51 as shown in FIG. If it is pulled in a slightly curved state so as to make sufficient contact, the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can be provided.

On the other hand, in the case of pushing and inserting or pulling out of the body, if it is bent in the direction opposite to that of FIG. 6, there is an advantage that it can advance and retreat with little frictional resistance.

In addition, for example, it is provided in a down direction different from FIG.
You may make it provide in an up part, a down part, etc.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a high friction part (or a non-processing part)
The 61 is provided so as to partially extend from the front portion of the bending portion 62 to the tip portion 63, or provided at the rear side of the tip portion 63 as shown in FIG. 8, or as shown in FIG. It may be provided slightly behind the front end. Also in these cases, they may be provided in a part of the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. Further, it may be provided at two or more places, and in this case, the positions provided in the circumferential direction may be different.

Note that different embodiments can be formed by partially combining the above-described embodiments.

Further, the above-mentioned high friction portion (or non-processing portion) and low friction portion (or processing portion) may be formed by mounting the end portion of the insertion portion of a normal endoscope.

It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to an electronic endoscope, but can be applied to a fiberscope.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a low friction portion having a small frictional resistance with the lumen surface of the observation target is provided on the outer surface from the distal end portion of the insertion portion to the curved portion. Since the high friction portion having a higher friction resistance than the low friction portion is provided closer to the front end than the low friction portion, an endoscope suitable for insertion by the hooking-the-fold method is realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall structural view of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a jacket of a bending portion in a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a jacket of a bending portion, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a jacket of a bending portion in a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a front end side of an insertion portion in a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example of use of the fifth embodiment, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are side views of a distal end side of an insertion portion in a modification of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electron endoscope, 2 ... Insertion part 3 ... Operation part, 6 ... End part 7 ... Bending part, 8 ... Flexible tube part 21 ... Non-processing part, 22 ... Processing part

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A low friction portion having a small frictional resistance with a lumen surface of an observation object is provided on an outer surface from a distal end portion to a curved portion of an insertion portion, and a high frictional portion having a larger frictional resistance than the low friction portion. An endoscope provided at a position closer to the front end than the low friction portion.